New Stars
by ProztheTurtle
Summary: Jack has learned of a secret woman, who's been shunned by the Fae community and the Man in the Moon. When the two become friends and the world begins as they know it begins to collapse around them they must discover who she is and what her place in the world is.
1. Chapter 1

She never listened to the stars. Of course, this always made the stars angry. Their song was never far from the girl's mind, but she never cared enough to listen to the underlying feeling of the songs or even the words. Believing that she didn't need the help of inanimate objects, she continued to walk each night, alone and somewhat disgruntled. Her grandfather never spent these nights with her, preferring instead to keep to his study to develop new toy ideas for the children of the world. It was a constant disagreement with them. When she returned from her walk they would always share a bottle of warm milk with several shots of vodka mixed in and several chocolate chip cookies while discussing what she had seen and heard on her walks. Often this would lead to heated arguments over about whether she was old enough to even be walking around outside, let alone if she was old enough to be drinking the vodka.

It was cold. She didn't feel it though, she never felt it. That was the best part about being raised within the Arctic Circle, after a while a sweater was more than enough for any kind of cold weather, though she always thought that it might have something to do with her family. The snow beneath her feet crunched satisfyingly as she prowled uneasily through an unlit alley that connected to one of the more familiar streets. She walked down to a dark park with the moon was shining above her, round and bright in its full glory. She ignored it, as she ignored the stars; the only difference was that even though she knew and respected the moon it never seemed to talk to her. A breeze ruffled the light cotton shirt and skirt she was wearing, lifting them teasingly into the sky ahead of her.

When the breeze subsided the clothing fell against her curved frame, hiding the ivory skin beneath folds of red and orange. Against her skin shone tattoos of grey, white and black, each had been etched onto her skin with the gentlest care and utmost attention. The tattoos swirled around her body, twisting up and down her limbs; each tattoo was unique in its intricate pattern while blending effortlessly with the others. The girl sighed heavily, and several grey tattoos began to glow as the girl's clothing thickened in an attempt to stop the thin from floating away.

Lifting her head she whispered, "Where are you tonight Manny?" The girl's words carried the slightest trace of a Russian accent. She always blamed her grandfather and his thick accent, after all the man had been born and raised in Russia centuries ago.

As usual the girl received no response form the ever staring moon. A frown slid across her features as the empty alley echoed with silence. As she emerged, she spotted a child and a teen walking towards her, their hushed conversation barely audible on the winter wind. The young boy was no more than ten years old, his face was lit up with excitement and curiosity. The girl smiled fondly remembering her own childhood and the memories she had made with her grandfather. The boy's brown eyes floated past her, not seeing her even though she was mere feet from him. The teenager noticed her instantly, his light cerulean blue eyes found hers as soon as she set eyes on him, the look made her frown. It was if he could actually see her walking towards him, but that was impossible. No one could see her. She was invisible to everyone but the Guardians and other Fae.

Her gaze slid from the teenager's to the moon which still shone brilliantly in the middle of the inky sky. "What are you doing to me Manny?" She demanded, her voice rising a little in loneliness.

"Jamie, who is that?" The girl's eyes snapped towards the teenaged boy in astonishment as he jumped towards her, carried by a gentle winter wind. "Who are you?" He asked the girl his eyes wide and startlingly friendly.

"There's no one there Jack." The boy said his eyes hovering briefly over where the girl stood, his voice carrying a faint note of uneasiness.

"You can't see her?"

A slow, mournful smile crept across the girls face as she replied, "Of course he can't. I have no legends told about me, I am nobody." She didn't expect the teen to answer but he did.

"Belief doesn't always come from legends and stories." His voice was full of sadness, and the girl thought she caught a glimpse of sympathy in his eyes. It was something she didn't want. Not now. Not after centuries of waiting.

"I'm sorry, but where belief comes from is not a subject I'd expect someone like you to be well educated about." Her reply visibly hurt the blue eyed teen and she could see his eyes widen in unexpected surprise.

"How would you know who I am?" He glared at her as a fierce winter wind ruffled his shaggy white hair across his face. He pulled himself to his full height, which was a good three or four inches taller than her, and crossed his arms. He was thin, but not lanky, somewhere between what the girl would have called lean and toothpick. The teen's navy blue hoodie was covered in ice around the hood and his neck, and even around the pouch that rested above his stomach. His tan breeches only travelled to the middle of his calves, with a light brown cord winding from his knee to the bottom of the pants, which were fraying at the hem.

The girl's top lip peeled away in a sneer to show off an impressive set of white teeth. Raising her eyebrows she said, "If the appearance wasn't a dead giveaway seeing your staff," The girl nodded towards the boy's left hand where a staff, similar to that of a shepherd was clutched, "Told me. It's a pleasure to finally meet you Jack Frost."

Jack Frost's black eyebrows knitted together over his eyes in confusion and he demanded "How do you know who I am?" His eyes scanning her face for some hint of identity.

The girl lowered her left eyebrow while her eyes silently questioned his intelligence. When he looked at her he could almost see someone else standing behind her watching over her with dark anger and hatred. Jack's eyes travelled over the girl in open curiosity. She had long black hair that fell to just below the middle of her back in thick waves. Her nose was neither small nor overly large, it was just there to keep the face together. Her lips were the same, they weren't too thin or too pouty, instead they were somewhere in the middle, letting the more attractive features of her face stand out more. Her jaw curved down into her chin in two graceful curves that remind Jack of someone he had seen before, he couldn't call a face or even a name to mind though and instead his eyes travelled up to her eyes. Her eyes were a startling pale grey, which seemed to turn to silver in the moonlight.

"Jack?" Jamie's voice interrupted his studying of the girl bringing him back to reality.

As Jack turned to look at the boy he could feel the girl brush past him on the left, leaving him staring after her in curiosity. He could feel disappointment well up in his chest and pull his eyebrows together over his eyes in confusion for only a moment. Jamie must have seen the look because he turned to look at the place where the girl stood. "Were you really talking to someone?"

"Yes Jamie," Jack whispered, his blue eyes narrowing in thought as he watched the girl, who was now a shadow, disappear into the night. "I think she's like me. A Guardian."

"But why didn't I see her?" Big brown eyes stared up at Jack for a brief moment before realization dawned upon the boy. "She… No one knows about her… She's just like how you used to be."

Jack grimaced, the memories of previous lonely centuries made him cringe inside. "Yes Jamie." Jack tussled the boy's hair with a small grin. "She's just like me."

"Do you want to go talk to her?"

"Nah." Jack smiled down at the boy his eyes bright with friendship. "I'll talk to her later."

"What if you never see her again?"

"She's a Guardian Jamie." Jack smiled as he and the boy began to walk again. "I know I'll see her again."

The girl wasn't sure what to make of Jack Frost, his companion and the fact that he kept calling her a Guardian. She had always known that one day she would meet the newest Guardian, after all her grandfather had always promised to introduce the two of them, but she had never quite pictured meeting him in a middle of nowhere town with a boy no less. She decided to ignore the strange moment for now, and focused on the night around her. The moon was beginning to slide down the night sky, and the stars were shifting ever so slightly in their nightly cycle.

"Ah Manny, what a night this has been." The girl's breath slipped from her lips in a stream of warm mist. "I wonder whether you have noticed us up on your moon." Sighing the girl continued to walk through the lonely city, wondering if her feet might lead to more excitement. She doubted it; however, she had not expected to meet Jack Frost, so maybe the Man in the Moon would let her road join with another's.

After several hours of wandering around the town, the girl decided it was time to go home. Sighing, the girl grabbed a discarded tree branch from a nearby by snow bank and with a slow breath lit the end of the branch with a single flame of orange fire coaxed into life on her right index fingertip. As the branch burned she placed the burning tip down into the snow and drew a simple circle. When the flame fizzled out of existence, the girl threw it away and stepped into the circle. Her eyes closed and she drew in a soft breath. An image appeared behind her eyelids, the last memory she had of home, the tiny cabin nestled deep into the shelves of the Arctic ice, her grandfather's workroom. A flash of soft yellow light enfolded her and she was gone.

When she reappeared, it was next to her grandfather who was, as usual, laboring away over his workbench, crafting another toy. The wood seemed to bend in the man's hands as if it were a living thing that could pick up the giant's thoughts. He smiled and hummed as he worked with the wood, caressing it into the shape he wanted while allowing it some room to breathe. The girl always marvelled at the skill her grandfather showed, and if she ever stopped to think she might actually have been able to admit that yes, she was jealous of his confidence in his power.

"Grandfather, I have returned." The girl's voice sounded loud in the small workshop and for a moment she worried that she may have broken the man's concentration.

"Aye, I noticed." The man's thick Russian accent, and his warm smile made the girl relax.

"How was your evening?" Her fingers began working over a small notch in the workbench, she had accidentally put it there years ago when she had thrown a tray at a Yeti, the Yeti had ducked and instead of hitting it in the head she had hit the table scarring it forever. It had taken several weeks and several batches of cookies to make her grandfather forgive her.

The man shook his head and with a scowl stated, "Not as productive as I would have liked. How was yours?"

"Uninteresting as usual."

"Tell me about it."

"Maybe later old man," The endearment made the man snort and mutter under his breath. "I'm tired at the moment." Kissing the man's bushy right check she whispered a quick good-night before slipping from the room, silent as a shadow. The man hesitated for a moment, letting his love for the girl sweep through him before turning to the open window.

"You really should be telling her soon you know. She can only wait so long." A single moonbeam shone through the open window as the man turned back to his work his mind already beginning to forget the girl's strange behaviour. After all, she had said nothing exciting had happened, and nothing exciting was going to happen, not for a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack handed a small golden case of precious baby teeth to Toothiana, who quickly darted out of sight once her fingers had grabbed it from his grasp. He had to fight back a smile as he watched Toothiana come back into sight only to zip off to perform another task elsewhere. The faerie was so hard to follow that he couldn't help but feel slightly out of place within her large palace of teeth; everything seemed to be touch and go with her that it was hard to stay in touch for a long period of time. He wasn't alone though, he had the tiny faeries to keep him company, Baby Tooth in particular who loved to work with him during his visits to the Tooth Palace.

As Jack worked, sorting the containers according to Toothiana's directions, he found himself wondering about the girl he had run into on his walk with Jamie last night. He hadn't learned her name, even though he had meant to ask, and now the question of who she was filled his mind. He heard the sound of Toothiana's wings and he looked up from his work to find her hovering above him, scanning a series of pictures for a match to the picture on the case she held. She looked down at Jack with a slight frown and then back at the case before landing beside him.

"Is something on your mind Jack?" Toothiana carefully placed the case on one of the many piles scattered around the table Jack and Baby Tooth worked at. Some of the piles were getting extremely high and almost seemed in danger of collapsing, while others only had one or two cases, one pile was even held in place by Jack's staff which was leaning against the table.

"I met a new Guardian." Toothiana started at his news, almost knocking a pile of golden cases of the table.

"A new Guardian?!"

"Well I don't know if she's a Guardian or not. I was walking with Jamie and she was walking down the same path, and we meet. She knew who I was, but I had no idea who she was. Jamie couldn't see her." He glanced at Toothiana who had begun working through the piles with quick, sure hands.

"What did she look like?"

Jack hesitated before replying, he hadn't gotten the best look at her in the dark alleyway even though he was sure he had been staring, but he did remember some things. "She had black hair and silver eyes and had several tattoos on her arms. I noticed those right away because of how weird they were, they were black and grey and white. And they swirled all over the place. She was polite, but I could tell she wanted to be left alone."

Toothiana watched him carefully through the corner of her eyes, Jack looked at her and smiled, the same smile he always gave her, warm and friendly, but this time Toothiana thought she saw something different in that smile. Something that made her shiver. She liked Jack, maybe too much, she didn't want to see him get hurt, and that was exactly what would happen if he continued wondering about the girl. "How strange." Toothiana murmured as she turned back to the many piles of teeth cases.

Jack's hands drummed a beat on the edge of the table, a sure sign that his mind was occupied with thoughts of the girl. "Do you know her?" he asked and Toothiana felt herself sag by a fraction.

Forcing a smile to her face, she replied, "No, but she does sound interesting."

"Do you think North would know who she is?"

Toothiana shrugged her bluish-green shoulders with forced disinterest. "I doubt it, but you could always ask. The worst thing that will happen is he says he doesn't know her."

Jack nodded slowly, his blue eyes already darting off into the distance as if he wanted to leap from his spot. Toothiana bit back a sigh and gently nudged her fellow Guardian with her right wing. "Go on." She said with a small smile, "I know you want to go. So go. I can sort this faster than you can at the moment."

Jack wrapped his arm around her torso in a quick hug of thanks before he grabbed his staff from its resting place and leapt from the column where they stood. Toothiana felt a fierce breeze tug at her wings and feathers. She didn't have to turn around to know that Jack was darting away on the wind after his answers as if he were a faery after a pool of golden honey. The Tooth Faery felt Baby Tooth land on her shoulder, she already knew what the miniature version of herself was going to tell her. She too felt strange lying to Jack; however, after the promise she had made to both North and her friend she was forced to keep her secret to herself. When she turned back to her work she found one of the piles of cases frozen in place, the same spot Jack's staff had been. Toothiana felt the corners of her mouth lift in amusement as she busied herself with the rest of the cases.

As Jack flew he began to wonder why he was so interested in the girl. The thought of her had followed him all evening and morning and he wasn't able to tear his mind away from her. The newness of her was just so surprising that he could almost imagine he had just come from the frozen pond and he had yet to meet his fellow Guardians. Thankfully he covered ground quickly, and arrived at North'shome before the sun had begun to sink into the horizon.

On the outside the building looked tiny for what it was, a toy factory should be larger than an old cabin nestled deep into the Arctic ice shelves, but Jack knew better. He knew that beneath the faded pieces of wood and stone and ice was a factory larger than even he had imagined. As he approached, the front door it opened on silent hinges and a yeti appeared in the doorway. It looked as all yeti's did, with its menacing stare and bulky frame. Jack wasn't put off by its startling appearance though, he knew that beneath the tangled mess of fur the yeti's were a somewhat soft, if not downright, cuddly bunch.

"Hey big guy, is North here?" The yeti nodded its head, mumbled something in a language Jack never understood and motioned inside the building. The teen took that as an invitation to enter and he slipped past the yeti and into the factory.

North knew Jack entered the building the moment he walked through the door, for a moment he thought he heard the wind whistling through the building, intent on bringing the fierce Arctic cold, but a heartbeat later it was gone. The man continued to work for several minutes while he waited for the Guardian to arrive. When he did, North was more or less pleased with his latest creation and he turned to Jack to show it off. Cradled in his large hands was a tiny piece of ice, caved into a similar likeness of his old Djinn companion. When North laid his hands flat the tiny robot began to shake and when North said, "Fly." It began to shoot across the tiny workroom with invisible wings.

"That's awesome!" Jack exclaimed, excited to see a piece of North's work that would later become a source of wonder and awe for children across the globe.

"But it is not why you are here no?"

Jack shook his head with a rueful smile, "No it's not." He agreed, bringing his staff close against his torso and gripping it tighter in his hands. "I was wondering if you'd know about this girl I met."

"Girl?" North began laughing as he turned back to his table. "I know nothing about girls. Go to Bunny if want advice with girls."

"I haven't even told you about her yet."

"Answer is still no."

Jack yanked his staff away from his body and stared at the man in frustration. He had been so hopeful that North would answers for him, and now he felt more than a little disappointed. "You won't even listen to what I have to say?"

"No."

Jack sighed, his shoulders sagging heavily under the weight of his curiosity. His eyes fell to the floor as he released a resigned sigh. Just as he turned to leave the door opened and he raised his eyes and caught the gaze of a pair of silver grey eyes. "You!"

"Yes me." The girl tilted her head to the side sending a wave of black hair over her shoulder. "I wasn't expecting to see you so soon."

"Astra?" North was watching the two of them from over his shoulder. His bright blue eyes were narrowed in something Jack couldn't place. He wasn't sure he wanted to. When he turned back to the girl she was giving the man an apologetic smile.

"I meet him last night." She told the Guardian as she stepped further into the room and closer to Jack.

"I thought nothing interesting happened."

"Yes well I lied." Jack listened to the exchange in bewilderment, his grip on his staff grew even stronger as the girl turned to him and said, "Would you like to go talk in another room? I have some hot chocolate cooking right now. You're welcome to have some." The girl left without saying another word, she left the door wide open as if she expected him to follow her. He did.

She weaved through North's workshop as if she had been born amongst the rabble and noise. Her long black hair swished across her back as she made turn after turn in a maze of corridors Jack couldn't remember seeing before. Finally they emerged from a hallway into a domed room lined with worn red rugs and wooden furniture that looked both old and comfortable. The girl chose a large deep brown arm chair; she draped her legs over one of the armrests and leaned against the back of the chair. Her fingers played with the edge of her white shirt which clung to her slight frame.

She waited until Jack took a seat before saying anything. When she did speak, her words were slow and careful as if she was thinking about them even as she spoke. "I didn't expect to see you again so soon. I had been hoping I'd be able to think more on what I would say to you, and how I would explain everyone's…" She paused and searched for the word before continuing, "Sudden lack of knowledge. But first… My name is Astra St. North. If my name doesn't give it away, North is my grandfather, though he is more of a father to me."

"How old are you?"

Astra smiled, revealing a pair of sharp canines and said, "How polite of you. If you must know I was born five hundred and forty-seven years ago in Northern Russia. My mother was the daughter of The Guardians of Wonder and Story-telling making my mother fae."

Jack's staff dipped towards the floor, and he blinked in confusion. "Fae? You mean like faeries and elves? I thought they were only myths."

"Are you a myth Jack Frost?"

"Yes, but I exist."

Jack saw Astra's silver eyes grow hard and she burst out saying, "Have they taught you nothing about our world?" The Russian accent became thick in the girl's anger, he watched as she took a deep breath and forced herself to relax. "Fae exist Jack, you have just lived in a place where their influence is extremely low. Fae don't like living with humans for any length of time, not in the numbers you do at least."

"Why haven't the others told me about them?"

Astra shrugged her shoulders, "Maybe they didn't think it important. The Guardians and Fae don't really mix well together, even the Fae who are considered 'good' aren't very close to the Guardians, too many clashing ideas."

Jack could only wonder at the unknown world Astra held before him, he was so eager to learn more and yet he was hesitant. In the end, curiosity won and he settled down to listen, propping his staff against the side of the burgundy couch he was stretched out on.

"There was a man who coined the term 'collective unconsciousness, and it is basically a collection of every human memory. I think that it goes into more than just that though. I think that there's a collective unconsciousness for children, which is comprised of memories of the Guardians and some Fae. On the other hand there is a similar collective unconsciousness for adults, which has very little memories of the Guardians, and more of the Fae. Which is why children are more likely to see one of you, and adults are more likely to see a Fae."

"How long have you thought about this?"

"Long enough." Astra answered with an amused huff, "It gets boring living as long as we do."

Jack shifted on the couch, his eyes travelling around the room uncomfortably as if he didn't want to look at Astra. "So why haven't we meet before now?" He asked her quietly, he wasn't sure how he felt about the Guardians keeping her existence from him, but he was willing to forgive them.

"I made Tooth and North promise to keep their mouths shut until I was ready to meet you." Astra smiled apologetically as Jack turned his blue eyes on her. "I don't usually get along well with other Fae and I wasn't sure if you'd be different or not."

"I'm just glad I have my answers now." Jack smiled revealing his perfect white teeth. Astra had to hold in a burst of laughter when she saw the object of Toothiana's fantasies.

"I am sorry for not meeting you sooner." Astra swung her legs off of the arm rest and onto the floor. She rose with a graceful swish of fabric and walked across the room to a corner where a fireplace had been built into the wall centuries ago. Several stones were covered in black soot and the fire that roared inside was brilliant and warm.

"So Jamie couldn't see you, does that mean you're like me?" Jack followed Astra across the room, stuffing his hands to the single pocket on the front of his blue sweater.

"In a way yes. I'm more Fae than you are, so the likelihood of Jamie ever truly seeing me is extremely low."

Jack watched as Astra pulled two silver mugs and an iron ladle off of the shelf above the fire place. She crouched beside the fire, placing the two mugs on the ground and reaching with the ladle into a large cauldron hanging above the fire. When the ladle returned from the pot it was filled with a rich brown liquid that steamed as it was poured into one of the cups; it took a while for both cups to be filled. Astra rose and placed the ladle back on the shelf before bending down to pick up the cups. She held one out to Jack with a soft, inviting smile.

Together they returned to the couch and armchair, talking about nothing in particular. As Astra cradled her warm drink in her hands she silently sighed feeling slightly, life was about to become a good deal more complicated then she was used to, she could feel it, she just didn't know if she was ready for the complications or not.


	3. Chapter 3

North was concerned; however, he was loathe to put voice to his concerns until something happened to prove them. The growing relationship between Jack and Astra bothered him, he had hoped to keep the girl hidden from the teen for a while longer, until the Man in the Moon gave him guidance at the very least. Before he had never really seen the need to keep her at home, she never got along with other Fae and the fact that she was getting along well with Jack was a cause of bewilderment to the ancient Guardian of Wonder. As North worked with the ice in his hands he pondered the strange relationship between the two teens, wondering if maybe he should do something.

As the shape of the toy began to form Astra appeared beside him as silent as a shadow and warm like the sun. She placed a gentle hand upon North's shoulder, turning the man's attention to her. She looked worried; beneath her eyes were dark circles of concern and weariness. Her silver eyes caught his blue ones and in their depths he could see the question that she would never ask. She knew of his discomfort, after all she had lived with him for five centuries now, if she wasn't at least slightly in tuned with his moods it would be odd.

"Grandfather, I'm going out with Jack. He's taking me to Burgess and show me around." Astra's silver eyes watched him carefully, and North knew she was waiting for his approval. Five hundred and forty-seven years old, hard-headed with a tongue of steel and she was suddenly asking his permission.

"Aye, go."

"Are you sure?" Astra's hand pressed harder against his shoulder, her fingers grabbing onto his clothing. "You don't look too happy."

North pushed the girl away and towards the door, a smile stretched across his face. "Go I said."

Astra smiled in response; however, the smile did not quite reach her eyes and North watched through narrowed eyes as she slipped from his workroom. Already he could tell that she was slipping into one of her daydreams, and for a moment he worried if the daydream would last until she met Jack. He knew what her daydreams did to her, how her thoughts would race and turn on the spot, changing her moods in dangerous ways.

Astra on the other hand, didn't notice North's worried gaze as she began to sink into her thoughts. Stories and possibilities began to swirl around the edges of her mind as she walked through the factory, careful of the yeti's who worked so hard and the elves who wasted time seemingly trying to kill one another. It almost seemed as if her thoughts played out over top of reality. She saw dreams and fantasies coursing through the workshop, running up the walls and painting themselves across the floor, changing reality as she understood it. And she loved it.

She loved the way she could manipulate the stories she saw, changing it to suit her moods which she knew were heavily influenced by the things she saw. She never cared though, unlike the Moon who acted as a guide to the guardians she saw the fantasies as her guide, and maybe that's what kept her from the guardians and other Fae. While they were busy worshipping the moon she was interacting with the stories.

Astra waited for Jack outside North's cabin, her arms crossed over her chest, she wasn't cold though. Crossing her arms kept her rooted to herself, so that her mind would not wander too far from her body. That had happened once many, many, many years ago. She had been caught be a simple dream and held captive by it for almost half a year. When North had finally managed to wake her she had felt groggy, as if she had just woken from a deep slumber, and the feeling stayed with her for months.

Jack appeared on the horizon streaking towards her on a current of winter wind. The teen's smile stretched from ear to ear and she couldn't help but smile softly in return. The simple shared smile made the dreams disappear, their grasps on her falling away like broken chains. She didn't know how Jack did it, but he did and she had yet to figure out if she liked his company or loathed it for such reasons. When the teen lighted down beside her she welcomed him with a small dip of her head, no words were spoken between the two. Astra found that most o the time Jack was content to talk and she to listen, but there were those moments when silence enveloped them both.

She reached out her hand to find Jack's, eager to see the winds he had promised her only a few days ago. He took her hand readily enough, his right hand was still clutched firmly around his staff. Astra had only a second to notice this before Jack had launched them into the sky. Her breath was sucked from her lungs as they travelled upwards into the cold Arctic atmosphere. She had expected the wind to feel sharp and rough against her, but instead it seemed to almost caress her and that she and Jack were stuck in a bubble of sorts.

Jack couldn't help but watch Astra as she marvelled at the wind. Every so often she would stick the hand that didn't connect them out of the cocoon of air and into the harsh wind and stare in wonder as she slowly brought the hand back in. He wasn't sure why he had agreed to this, after all he had only known her for less than a month. It didn't matter though, she was enjoying herself and to be honest he liked having a companion with him as he raced across the Arctic tundra.

"What are you going to show me in Burgess?"

Astra's question was almost lost in the wind, thankfully the wind brought it back to Jack and he turned to look over his shoulder to reply, "I want you to meet Jamie."

"Who?"

"The boy I was with the first time we met." Jack smiled as she tilted her head to the side, the memory almost seemed to dance in her eyes. "I told him about you, and he wants to meet you."

"And what if he can't see me?"

"He believes."

The confidence and faith in Jack's eyes stopped Astra from saying anything scathing in reply. Instead she allowed herself to be swept along by his faith, and in the corner of her eyes she could see scenes where she and Jamie met. She allowed the scenes to roll across her vision for a few seconds, stealing the warmth from them like a starved man.

It took them an hour to reach Burgess, when they alighted in the middle of a park Astra looked around cautiously as if she didn't quite believe they had arrived so soon. On her right was a statue and she turned to examine it, curious about the man who stood before her cast in stone. When she turned away Jack beckoned to Jamie who was sitting across the clearing under a giant pine, his brown eyes wide with wonder. The boy jumped for his spot beneath the tree and raced across the clearing.

"Hi Jack!" He exclaimed, his excitement at seeing the guardian visible on his face.

"Hey Jamie." Jack reached down to ruffles the boy's hair, which as usual was messy. "Jamie I'd like you to meet someone."

Astra was still focused on the statue, reading the plague on its side with fierce concentration. She jumped when she felt something tap her shoulder and turned to find Jack standing a few feet away with someone the boy, Jamie. Jack's staff was hovering above her shoulder, and she knocked it away with a mock huff of agitation.

"Astra this," Jack brought his staff back to his side and motioned to the boy. "Is Jamie Bennett, Jamie this is Astra."

Jamie stepped towards the strange girl, he couldn't help but stare at her as she bent down and tucked a stray lock of black hair behind her ear. She smiled and held out a hand to the boy, her eyes wide and friendly. He could see the world behind her, as she was translucent due to his shaky belief. "Hello Jamie."

"Hi." Jamie bashfully took her hand and shook it. He had believed that Jack was telling the truth, but he hadn't quite realized that his belief in this mysterious girl hadn't been as strong as his belief in Jack until he saw her solidify in front of him.

Astra of course noticed his faith right away, it was like a flame beneath his skin, warm and inviting. When she shook his hand the flame had grown stronger and she knew that the boy was full of untapped belief. Smiling she stood and looked down at the boy, who in some ways he reminded her of Jack.

"So what made you believe in me Jamie, if you don't mind me asking?"

Jamie smiled and shrugged, "Jack wouldn't lie to me."

Astra's smile slipped by a fraction and for a moment she could see the shadows, well they weren't truly shadows they seemed to be made of light but calling them light hardly did them justice, in the corners of her eyes. Taking a deep breath she looked away from the boy and focused on the tree he had been sitting beneath and forced the beings away. Looking back down at the boy she saw him still staring at her as if he still couldn't quite believe his eyes. She wasn't sure if it scared her or made her feel stronger.

They spent the day with Jamie, wandering around Burgess with no real destination in mind. Astra slowly felt herself relax over the course of the day, growing used to Jamie's questions and endless excitement. When the sun began to sink and Jack and Jamie began to say their good-bye's Astra felt a moment of sadness before remembering she could always visit Jamie. She bent down on one knee to say good-bye to him, holding out her arms to hug him. Jamie didn't hesitate for a second, wrapping his arms around her in a quick hug before turning and dashing off to return home. Astra held her position for a heartbeat longer, letting the warmth of Jamie settle in her.

When Astra stood up and brushed snow off of her dark grey leggings she caught Jack blinking at her in confusion. Suddenly she felt as if she owed him an explanation, "I enjoyed his company a lot, the amount of belief that seeps from him is just so… energizing. When he hugged me I took a little of his belief. It won't hurt anyone, and it will be replaced overnight as he sleeps."

"I wasn't judging you."

"Most Fae do."

They began walking side by side, Jack asking questions and Astra answering them as best as she could. "Tell me more about the Fae."

"Well there are several ways of categorizing the Fae. The first is through the alliances they've made. So there's the 'good' Fae, who consider themselves to be connected to the Guardians. Then there's the 'bad' Fae who have allied themselves with Pitch. And lastly there are those who consider themselves to be neither good nor bad, but somewhere in the middle."

"So what kind of Fae belong to what category?"

Astra shrugged, "Most nature based Fae consider themselves to be good. So dryads, nymphs and so on; however, brownies and faeries also consider themselves to be good. On the other hand Fae with more violent natures, so goblins, trolls, and giants all considered themselves under Pitch's leadership. Then the neutrals generally include elves, griffins, dragons, manticores and the like."

Jack nodded in understanding, swinging his staff across the ground every so often to freeze a puddle. Astra waited patiently for his next question, "So what do you consider yourself?"

"Neutral."

A burst of silver frost leapt from Jack's frost and landed amongst a clutter of trees. His blue eyes were wide with shock. "Wh- What do you mean?" The words sounded broken as he stuttered them, the syllables collapsing as they left his tinted blue lips.

"I have no real reason to fight against him." Jack stopped walking, and Astra drew a head by several feet before turning to look at him with cold eyes. "He has done nothing to me personally, and the war that happened between the Guardians and the Nightmare King had nothing to with us Fae."

"But what about North?" Jack's voice was steadily rising in volume as the two stared at each other, Astra with cool, unemotional gaze and Jack with stormy eyes.

"North was doing his job-"

"How can you just forget family like that?!" Jack demanded, his grip on his staff tightened with every word and Astra could see frost leaping from its crook.

"I didn't forget my family!" Astra snapped, her patience finally breaking, her breath beginning to come in quick shallow gulps. "Do you know how devastated I would have been if North died? I hated the fact that he forbid me from joining the war, and then all of a sudden YOU come into the picture, Jack Frost, the Guardian of Fun, the Man in the Moon's gift to children everywhere, and you are allowed to fight."

Jack's heart clenched as the girl's fierce words and sadness spilled over as tears. He wanted to take back what he said, but he knew he could not. Instead he hung his head as words continued to fly from her mouth. "North is the only family I have left. He was my mother's father, and fuck Jack I don't even know who my father was. And don't even get me started with the rest of the Guardians. Tooth is the closest friend I have had for the past three hundred and twenty some odd years. Bunny and Sandy? Did you know that when I was younger I called them Uncle Bunny and Uncle Sandy? Being neutral was forced onto me Jack Frost, it was my so called 'birth right'. If Pitch had hurt any of them I would have leapt into the fray to kill him myself."

The words stopped, but Astra's breathing remained quick and shallow, her body rigid and tense. Jack felt incredible shame rise in his chest and push his heart into his chest. His hadn't meant to rile Astra up so much, he had just honestly been confused as to why she didn't consider herself for the Guardians if she was such good friends with them. As the silence stretched between the two of them, the cold fire in Astra's eyes began to diminish and she slowly forced her body to relax. It wasn't Jack she was mad at, it was herself and the coward that she was.

"I am sorry Jack." She sighed, running a hand through her thick black hair, pushing it away from her face in discomfort. "I did not mean to snap."

"It's partly my fault." Jack rushed to say, relieved that at least they could put the moment behind them and focus on forgiving. Fighting with Astra was seriously not fun, not that fighting with anyone really was, but for some reason fighting with Astra made him more aware of what he was saying.

"No, it is Pitch's fault." The words slipped from Astra's mouth without a thought, and she frowned in confusion as Jack's eye stretched wide in astonishment. She had assumed that he would agree, after all he had been dragged into the war by Pitch's interference.

"Oh really now?" A silky smooth voice came from the shadows behind her; she recognized the voice as soft as it was. It made the hairs on her arms and the back of her neck stand straight up in fear, and her heart began to beat faster. "I can't believe how much I've been missed in the past year."

Astra's hair whipped across her face as she pivoted on the spot to come face to face with a familiar dark figure cloaked in shadows. A small cry of astonishment escaped from her lips. Pitch was supposed to be trapped underground. As the Boogeyman stepped towards her, his tall dark frame towering over her, Astra saw a set of perfect sharp teeth appear as Pitch's thin lips pulled away from his face in a horrific smile of glee. "Please tell me how everything is my fault."


	4. Chapter 4

"Please tell me how everything is my fault." Pitch's lips pulled away from his teeth in a sneer as Astra sank away from the fierce glare of the Boogeyman's golden eyes. Fear began to set deep in her stomach as she continued to stand and stare at the imposing figure before her.

A shower of frost erupted by the man's head as an icicle exploded on a pine tree to his left. The man didn't even bat an eyelash as his cool gaze shifted from Astra to Jack, who stood with his staff in both hands and his feet spread apart on the icy ground. The cool gaze became hard as Pitch pushed the girl aside, her back colliding with a tree with a loud thump. Jack took a step towards her, but was blocked by a deadly looking nightmare made of black and purple sand. "Oh Jack," He whispered bringing his hand up and placing it on the loop of Jack's staff. "It's been such a long time, aren't you even going to say hello?"

Jack gritted his teeth and pulled his staff away from Pitch's grasp. He felt the fear beginning to form at the bottom of his spine in tiny shivers, taking a deep breath he raised the staff and let the breath and a burst of snow go. Pitch shrank into the shadows before it could hit him, appearing on the other side of Jack. "Jack!" Astra screamed, pushing away from the tree to pull Jack out of the way of a deadly looking black sword. With her hands gripped tight around Jack's sweater clad arm Astra thought of North's workshop and together the two of them disappeared in a flash of golden light leaving Pitch behind.

Astra and Jack landed in a pile of limbs in the middle of the yeti infested workshop. Phil, one of the yetis Astra and Jack knew well, dropped the toy robot he had been working on and rushed over, his face a mask of deep worry. He grabbed Jack first, as his arm was closest, and pulled as hard as he could to remove the Guardian from Astra's grip. When he was sure Jack was able to stand on his own he turned back to Astra and shuddered. The girl had that look in her eye that he was so used to seeing, and because he knew that look so well he was not about to touch her. "Mambugh va gohte!" He called to North who was holed up in his study.

"What do you mean Astra's day dreaming? Of course she' day dreaming, that's all she ever does!" North called back, his voice carrying a note of annoyance.

"Bekberg!"

"Alright!" North poked his head from his study, his eyes narrowed in frustration, the bright blue eyes scanned the room until they landed on Astra who was still lying on the ground. Her hair was a mess of tangles and knots behind her, and her legs were pulled up to her chest while her arms covered her head. "Astra!"

The giant man pushed everything out of his way in his haste to reach the girl. Jack jumped back a few feet to watch in horror as North knelt to pick the girl up. The girl disappeared into his arms, cradled against his large chest with a tenderness he hadn't realized that North possessed. Astra made a choked sound and tried to struggle out of the man's grip, but North continued to hold her and shelter her. He turned to look at Jack, his blue eyes dark with worry.

"What has happened?"

Jack clutched his staff with both hands, took a shaky breath and said, "Pitch."

North's face became a hard shell of anger as the name of his enemy fell on his ears. With a grunt he rose to his feet, Astra still in his arms, and began to walk towards the network of hallways leading to Astra's rooms. Jack turned to follow after him, desperate to make sure Astra was okay. It took them several minutes to reach Astra's room, Jack leaped ahead to open the door for North who murmured a quick thanks. The teen watched from the doorway as North placed Astra down on her large bed, placing her in the middle of a sea of purple, blue and gold.

"Astra's going to be okay right?" Jack asked, using a breath of wind to cross the room.

"I do not know."

"What's wrong with her?" Astra let out a cry of that sounded more animalistic than human, it sent a fierce shudder down Jack's spine.

"Astra is very imaginative. Sometimes imagination becomes too much." North thoughtfully ran a hand through his thick white beard, his eyes glued to the girl's face. "Pitch must have triggered a bad feeling."

"Why hasn't this happened before?"

"It has," North turned to Jack a heavy sigh escaping his lips, "It's probably even happened with you around. She has no control over them."

Jack frowned, his eyebrows furrowing over his face. "I would have noticed if this happened before."

"She is good at pretending it's not happening."

"What exactly is happening?" Jack demanded his patience with his friend beginning to evaporate under the stress of the situation.

"She described it once to me, as creatures of light playing out scenes of her imagination. Sometimes entire stories, other times glimpses of possibilities, and the difference between reality and these things is hard to see."

"Will she be alright?"

North smiled and nodded sadly, his eyes once more finding Astra's face. "Yes, she will be fine in time."

North left the room then, walking quickly as if it was all suddenly too much for him. Jack watched him go in silence, not daring to break the spell that seemed to have been cast over the large man. When the wooden door shut behind North, Jack turned to look at Astra who still lay on the bed, her silver eyes wide and staring at the ceiling. Every so often Jack thought he caught a glimpse of gold flashes in her irises, but whenever he looked harder it was gone, and Astra was still in her distant world.

Jack decided to settle down and prepared to wait it out, though he wasn't even sure if he fully understood what 'it' was. On the other side of the room was a fireplace, with a bright roaring fire lit in its belly. Surrounding the fireplace were several couches made of soft red and gold material, Jack walked over slowly and placed his staff against the wall next to the couch closest to where Astra lay. Sighing Jack fell onto the couch with a groan, his head was swimming with everything that had happened, he had seen Pitch, but did that mean he had returned? Jack wasn't sure what to believe at this point.

He must have drifted off and some point because he opened his eyes, after what seemed like moments and found Astra curled up on the opposite end of the couch, a dark purple blanket tucked carefully around her shoulders. A noise of surprise escaped from him and Astra's gaze snapped to him her eyes glassy in the light. Not a word passed between the two of them, leaving Jack unsure with himself. Finally he pushed himself into a sitting position, his body facing the fire and said, "What happened?"

Astra released a loud sigh, her eyes closing tightly. "I don't know." She replied in a mutter, her body tensing. "He touched me and everything just happened. I suppose North told you about my… condition?"

Jack nodded making the girl laugh behind closed lips. "Go ahead and say it," She whispered, shame filling her voice, "I know you think I'm crazy."

"You're not crazy." Jack replied, his voice stronger than he thought it would be.

"Oh but I am Jack. If I was human and had gone to see a doctor, I'd probably have been diagnosed with something. It's why I don't have many strong relationships with other Fae, just with my grandfather and the other Guardians.

"I spent the first fifty years of my life thinking it was normal, and then when I tried to talk to someone, a highborn elf by the name of Leif, he called me crazy. The story spread through the Fae so quickly, after all they are great gossipers, and I was shunned. My mother died a year later and I was exiled from my village because 'demons' were trying to kill everyone through me."

The blanket fell from the girl's shoulders, and Jack was suddenly aware of the fact that she was shivering. Whether it was because she was cold or because of fear he wasn't quite sure and he was hesitant to touch her in case it was the first reason. "You don't sound crazy to me." Jack whispered reaching towards Astra and tucking the blanket back into place. She blinked slowly, as if she was afraid to look away and find that she had imagined what he just said.

"Really?" She breathed, her heart growing warm with hope.

Jack smiled and nodded pulling away to sit with his back slouched against the back of the chair. The nod seemed to have done the trick because the girl relaxed, her body sagging against the couch. A loud sigh of escapes from the girl and a small smile graces her weary features. For a moment Jack thought he saw her eyes glaze over but a moment later that look was gone.

"I'm really sorry you got dragged into this Jack. I mean Pitch coming back is bad enough but now you have my trouble to deal with."

"We don't know Pitch is back yet."

Astra's left eyebrow disappeared beneath her dark fringe, "Seriously Jack? We _saw_ him. How is that not proof that's he's returned?"

"He had the chance to kill us Astra, and he didn't. Why?"

"Maybe we're more use to him alive at the moment?"

Jack sighed, suddenly feeling bored and distant; this conversation was definitely not what he wanted to be doing right at the moment. He had no head for battles and for thinking ahead of the enemy, he was all improvisation and go with the flow. Astra stood, the blanket falling to the floor in a messy heap. Astra leaned down to grab Jack's hand, he gasped when he felt how hot her skin was, just like before but different this time, instead of a restrained warmth the girl seemed to burn with fire. She dragged him towards the window and opened it, letting cold Arctic air into the room. The cold winds licked at the flames in the fireplaces making them dance and flicker.

Astra's hand slid out of Jack and before he knew what was happening she launched herself from the window and into the night air. Jack watched in horror as Astra began to fall towards the ground, her arms held above her head in a graceful dive, Jack felt his body react on instinct, leaping from the window after the girl. When she went rushing by his head he had to stop and catch himself in midair. She streaked above his head, her arms held out from her torso as if they were wings. Warm air swept snow drifts into the air; however, the air was not warm enough to melt the frozen pieces of snow caught in Astra's wake.

Astra turned to watch Jack, bringing her arms down to her sides and floating nonchalantly in the midst of the warm thermal. She hadn't really put much thought into leaping out of the window and flying, it had just happened.

"How are you flying?" Jack demanded as he flew up to hover beside her.

The girl shrugged, "Thermals I guess. I never really thought about it."

"It's brilliant!"

The two shared a brief smile before Jack streaked away, letting the wind pull him high into the night sky. Astra followed him, letting the cold air whip across her body as she flew beneath the stars. She could hear their song in the back of her mind, and she tilted her head back to look at the seemingly never-ending sky. Ahead of her Jack had slowed and turned to watch his friend as she marveled at the stars. Her wonder reminded him of her grandfather.

Astra stopped below Jack, the warm thermals gently lowering her to the cold Arctic tundra. As her bare feet touched the snow a ball of snow landed between her shoulder blades. Gasping at the feeling of tiny droplets sliding down her back Astra bent down to grab a handful of snow, only to have it melt as she tried to pack it into a ball. Frowning she turned to complain to Jack and was rewarded with a face full of snow. The frost spirit began to shake with a side splitting laugh as Astra spluttered and began to wipe the rapidly melting snow from her face.

"I'm going to get you!" She cried in mock outrage as she leapt across the tundra, her feet keeping up piles of snow. Jack laughed even harder as the girl slipped on a patch of ice in midstride. The girl wobbled and fell to the ground, landing on her back with a loud gasp. As she lay there she began to laugh, long and hard as the snow melted around her and began to seep into her clothes. Jack stumbled over using his staff as a balance and fell to his knees beside her.

"Oh my god you should have seen your face." He said between bursts of laughter.

Astra stopped mid-laugh to glare at the frost spirit. "Oh yeah?" She muttered reaching across the gap to grab the front of his sweater. When Jack realized what she was doing it was too late. Before he could make a move to stop her Astra flung him head first into one of the nearby snow banks. The frost spirit pulled himself free of the snow in time to see Astra's eyes flash a deep shade of gold.

"Astra?"

With a grunt of effort Astra's eyes slide shut and her hands came up to rub her face. A tired sigh escaped the girl's lips and between the spaces of her fingers Jack could see the normal grey of her eyes. "I'm fine." Came the soft reply a moment before the girl's hands fell to the snow. She remained lying in the snow, her dark hair spread out behind her like a pool of shadows. "I'm fine."

Jack shook his head as he turned to lay down beside her close enough that their heads were brushing, but far away enough that she wouldn't feel crowded. Together they lay in silence, watching the stars turn in the never ending dance. It was quiet, and peaceful. And for a time both were able to forget about the trouble they had seen hours before, because their wonder of the stars left room for little else.


End file.
